Going for gold

Chandeliers in the kitchen and Aga cookers with gold plated tops are an acquired taste, but once people see them in situ, they like the look, says Tony Murphy of Christians Kitchens in Dublin's Setanta Centre. This is especially true with buyers of a certain age. Sleek streamlined kitchens are for the young, he said. "By the time people get to their 40s and have made it, they want something more opulent and elegant." So, out go the Shaker-style units and the stainless steel splashbacks and in comes something with a bit more style. Like a Christians kitchen.

Christians, an English company that sits comfortably at the very top end of the market, sell the kind of kitchens that look as though they have come from a grand old country house. They appeal to people who want a kitchen where they can relax and entertain. Ironically, while the kitchens are fitted with every possible culinary mod con, they are often bought by people who may never have to cook for themselves. Hand-painted units with hand carved pelmets and matching ceiling cornices are among the company's trademarks, along with bevelled glass cupboard doors, marble work tops and lots of little details like concealed spice drawers or pot drawers that glide out with expensive ease.

The Setanta Centre showroom, which used to be simple empty space behind The Kilkenny Shop, now houses two full kitchens, a large bedroom suite and a study, all furnished with bespoke fitted furniture.

In the bedroom, a four-poster bed is decked in expensive fabric opposite a wall of fitted wardrobes crafted in the company's Cheshire workshops and assembled in Dublin.

Regency-style gilded sofas smothered in velvet and jewel encrusted cushions are also part of the package. Beds cost around £8,000 fully dressed, and the sofas are similarly priced.

However, it is the kitchens that are likely to be the strongest sellers in the current market.

Fitting a new kitchen is one of the ways to instantly update a house, and a brand new kitchen can be fitted in a matter of weeks. Since the showrooms opened in October, Murphy and his assistants have handed out hundreds of its hardbound catalogues and a steady stream of customers has signed up to spend £40,000 upwards on a new kitchen.

You can get a Christians kitchen for less, but not much less. The cheaper kitchens will be from the simple New England range that looks like many another painted kitchen. If you want the true Christians look, the "Victorian" kitchen, complete with a larder that looks like a family heirloom - and costs as much - then £40,000 is about the starting point. That's not including lighting, appliances or the four-door Aga that can be customised with gold tops.

What it does include is a range of units designed to fit exactly into your space, painted 10 times to get the perfect finish. Larger kitchens will cost more, depending on how many units are required. Those free-standing larder units with the elaborate carving cost around £20,000 each, which includes the concealed American style fridge.

Soon the company will introduce its new Regency range, which promises to be even more elaborate than the Victorian model, with lots of gilt and classical style cornicing. Christians has been making their distinctive country style kitchens for almost 20 years and were among the first to introduce the painted look that has been copied by so many kitchen firms. The kitchens are best suited to large houses with plenty of space, since many of the units are more like pieces of furniture than kitchen cupboards.

The store is bound to attract a good deal of sightseeing in the coming months, but so far Murphy has been surprised at the high level of interest and the number of people with seemingly limitless budgets, particularly in the south Dublin suburbs.

"We've fitted several kitchens so far, a couple of them in very big houses in Killiney," says Tony Murphy. "They really suit the bigger old house." Look out for that gold topped Aga in a home near you.

Christians of Ireland is at the Setanta Centre, Nassau Street, Dublin 2, tel 01 6725035.